Canada Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab - pot/trap

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Overview

This Comprehensive FIP is led by New Brunswick and Quebec Seafood Processors and Fishermen Associations who are actively involved in pilot and sea trial of new and emerging technologies for the reduction of entanglement of right whales in snow crab fishing gear in cfa 12 and surrounding areas. The North Atlantic right whale (NARW)‘s population has been declining since 2010. NARW mortalities can be caused by ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, especially in fixed gear such as pots. Since 2015, a higher number of NARW are migrating to the Gulf of St. Lawrence to feed during the summer and fall. Therefore, areas that traditionally posed no or little risk to NARW now must be considered as possible NARW habitat. This FIP will cover improvements to endangered, threatened, and protected (ETP) species impacts in the Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fishery to mitigate the risk to NARW and other ETP species, while maintaining a sustainable Canadian seafood industry. This FIP intends to cover all ETP species indicators in the MSC criteria (2.3.1, 2.3.2, 2.3.3).

Chionoecetes opilio CANADA | Gulf of St. Lawrence | Pot /Trap Gear

FIP Description 

This Comprehensive FIP is led by New Brunswick and Quebec Seafood Processors and Fishermen Associations who are actively involved in pilot and sea trial of new and emerging technologies for the reduction of entanglement of right whales in snow cra

FIP Objective(s) 

The overall objective for this FIP is to regain successful MSC certification of the fishery by July 2026.

This FIP intends to cover all ETP species indicators in the MSC criteria (2.3.1, 2.3.2 ) and meet the 80+ score for each.

FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 4: Improvements in Fishing Practices or Fishery Management
Start and Projected End Dates
January 2020
July 2026
Update 
2.3.1 – ETP Outcome Rationale or key points There are seven ETP species considered in this assessment: three wolffish species (Atlantic, Northern, and Spotted), Leatherback sea turtle, blue and fin whale, and north Atlantic Right Whale. There is good information and/or low to non-existent impact on the non-NARW species. Those six scoring elements achieve scores above SG80. The NARW is known to interact with the sGSL snow crab fishery and there have been documented entanglements and mortalities in the area from fixed gear vertical lines. There have also been multiple cases directly linked the UoA through gear marking in the fishery. The recovery threshold is 0.8 animals per year and this fishery exceeds that value. Thus, it is known that the fishery is hindering recovery of the NARW. The NARW scoring element is below SG60.
Next Progress Report Due 
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Next Independent Evaluation 
Sunday, January 31, 2027
Species 
Common Name 
Snow Crab (Opilio)
Scientific Name
Chionoecetes opilio
Buying Guide Link Image 
Snow Crab (Opilio)
Buying Guide
Gear Type 
Pot/Trap
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 21 (Atlantic, Northwest)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
Canada
Geographic Scope 
Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canadian Maritimes ( QC, NB, NS,PEI)
Country Flag of Vessel 
Canada
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
32,084 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
32,084 metric tons
Landings Date 
July 2024
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FIP at a Glance

View current status
January 01, 2020
7% 93%
Progress Rating (A) Advanced Progress

Reserved for comprehensive FIPs that have achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within the past 12 months.

(B) Good Progress

A basic FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within 12 months.

(C) Some Recent Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months that has never achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result but has reported a Stage 3 activity within the first 12 months.
(D) Some Past Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months BUT has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old AND a Stage 3 activity has been reported within six months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
(E) Negligible Progress
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old, with no Stage 3 activity reported in the last six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months with no Stage 3 activity reported within 12 months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.

The ratings are currently derived by SFP from publicly available data on FIP websites, including FisheryProgress.org, and are determined using the following methodology: View PDF
A Advanced Progress
Actions Complete

This pie chart represents completed environmental actions. Non-completed environmental actions may contain completed sub-tasks that are not illustrated here. For more information on environmental action progress visit the Actions Progress tab.
  • Complete
  • Incomplete
Next Update Due FisheryProgress requires a FIP to provide update reports every six months, and two missed reports will render the FIP inactive. If a report is overdue, this date will appear red.
Jul 2025
Target End Date
Jul 2026
Additional Impacts:
Traceability

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
MKM GLOBAL
Organization Type 
Consultant
Primary Contact 
Katherine Morissette
Email 
info@globalmkm.com
Phone 
5147011303
Website Name 
gosaf.ca
FIP Identification Number The FIP Identification Number is automatically generated by FisheryProgress when a FIP profile is created. While the number itself is not meaningful, they are used by NGOs, academia, and industry to refer to FIPs in a consistent way.
15389